Job Overview
DoorDash Labs is an independent team within DoorDash. We explore robotics and automation to transform last mile logistics in the long term. If you have a passion for applying robotics solutions in a service used by millions of people, then we want to talk to you!
We're hiring a Planning & Controls Engineer in our Autonomy Software team. In this role, you'll own and develop flight control, motion planning, and mission planning algorithms for robust, fault-tolerant drone delivery. This is a hands-on role: you will design controllers, implement them in C++ on embedded platforms, test them in flight, and iterate.
You're excited about this opportunity because you will…
- Play an integral role on a small and focused team
- Develop and tune low-level flight control algorithms for overactuated multirotor and hybrid aircraft on embedded platforms
- Own the dynamics simulation and aerodynamics modeling of the aircraft
- Bring up and tune flight controllers on new drone platforms
- Develop, tune, and test fault-tolerant control (loss of one or more motors, safe landing, emergency behaviors)
- Build a trajectory motion planner for smooth flight and obstacle avoidance within the operating envelope
- Help develop the high-level mission route planner with fallback locations
We're excited about you because…
- You have deep controls fundamentals: linear and nonlinear systems, stability analysis, controller synthesis and tuning, frequency domain analysis, optimization, and linear algebra
- You have excellent knowledge of C++ and embedded systems
- You bring dynamics modeling and simulation experience with aerodynamics knowledge
- You have experience developing and tuning flight controllers, interfacing with state estimation
- You have excellent knowledge of motion planning algorithms (trajectory optimization and nonlinear optimization, A*/D*/RRT variants)
- You have experience with sensorless brushless DC motor control
- You've built or owned a robot control stack end-to-end, from design through implementation to hardware testing
- MS/PhD degree in EE, ME, CS, Robotics, or related technical field
- Nice to have experience includes:
- Familiarity with PX4 internals (mixer, rate controller, position controller)
- Experience with hybrid VTOL transition control
- Experience with tethered or suspended payload dynamics
- Contributions to open-source flight stacks or robotics frameworks
- Published papers in controls, motion planning, or aerial robotics
- Experience developing a Model Predictive Controller (MPC), including formulation, solver, and deployment
Compensation
The successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future